ESC Insight – Home of the Unofficial Eurovision Song Contest Podcasthttp://escinsight.com
Taking a closer look at the Eurovision Song Contest.Sat, 23 Sep 2017 01:11:13 +0000en-GBhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.2Taking a closer look at the Eurovision Song Contest.Ewan SpencecleanEwan Spenceewanspence@gmail.comewanspence@gmail.com (Ewan Spence)Taking a closer look at the Eurovision Song Contest.ESC Insight – Home of the Unofficial Eurovision Song Contest Podcasthttp://www.escinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/ESC_NorwayGrungeFlag_144.jpghttp://escinsight.com
Eurovision Insight Podcast: On Days Like Thesehttp://escinsight.com/2017/09/22/eurovision-insight-podcast-news-september-22nd-2017/
http://escinsight.com/2017/09/22/eurovision-insight-podcast-news-september-22nd-2017/#commentsFri, 22 Sep 2017 20:49:44 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63921Workshop meetings, Reference Group schedules, slogans, artwork, and another brand-new three-minute long song. Ewan Spence brings you up to date with Eurovision news in the latest ESC Insight podcast.

]]>As the new Eurovision season begins to talk shape, the message is clear. Everything is great. We don’t know exactly what these great things are, but they are great. Time to sit down to see what’s been happening in the last two weeks on the latest Insight News podcast.

Eurovision Insight Podcast: On Days Like These

Catch up with the latest news on Eurovision 2018 and Junior Eurovision 2017, the latest National Final news and submissions, plus music from Lotte. Hosted by Ewan Spence.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/09/22/eurovision-insight-podcast-news-september-22nd-2017/feed/5Catch up with the latest news on Eurovision 2018 and Junior Eurovision 2017, the latest National Final news and submissions, plus music from Lotte.Catch up with the latest news on Eurovision 2018 and Junior Eurovision 2017, the latest National Final news and submissions, plus music from Lotte. More about the Eurovision Song Contest at www.escinsight.com.Ewan Spenceclean19:25Time To Shine, Time To Change Eurovision’s Starting Timehttp://escinsight.com/2017/09/21/when-should-the-eurovision-song-contest-start/
http://escinsight.com/2017/09/21/when-should-the-eurovision-song-contest-start/#commentsThu, 21 Sep 2017 21:29:25 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63757As the self-styled favourite TV show of Europe, the Eurovision Song Contest manages to miss prime time Saturday night and runs well past midnight for the majority of viewers. Lisa-Jayne Lewis looks at one simple solution to this problem... change the starting time.

]]>Following their victory in 2015 with Måns Zelmerlöw’s ‘Hereos’, Swedish broadcaster SVT asked the EBU’s Reference Group to adjust the start time of the Eurovision Song Contest to start one hour earlier at 8pm Central European Time. This request was denied by the Reference Group and the Song Contest continues to this day to fill the 9pm CET time slot. This means of course that the Contest, which is well known for sailing past the three hour thirty minute running time (and closing in on four hours in some years) does not finish until well past midnight for the majority of its audience.

It’s time to revisit that decision.

Many consider the traditional peak time for Saturday night broadcasting to be between 8pm and 9pm – arguably this isn’t the case anymore, but I’ll come back to that – but taking this time as a starting point we can look at which countries appear to be holding the reins in regards to airing the Eurovision Song Contest at peak viewing time, and why the timing needs to be reconsidered.

But What Is Peak Viewing Time?

There are only three countries who broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest to begin at the traditional peak viewing time of 8pm; the Republic of Ireland (RTE), Portugal (RTP), and the United Kingdom (BBC). Of these three countries it won’t come as any surprise to you to know that the UK has by far the biggest audience, averaging around the seven million mark. In Portugal it hovers around 600,000 though it shot up to 1.5 million this year as RTP’s audience must have had an inkling that something special was going to happen. And in Ireland we are looking at a rough average of 320,000, well down from the 1.1 million who watched Jedward in 2012.

It’s the UK that has the largest audience volume of the traditional peak of the Song Contest, but I do question the idea of the BBC seemingly driving the start time of the Contest. It represents around four percent of the total audience. If we divide the audience up into viewing zones we can clearly see how this falls across the continent.

These are rough figures based on published viewing figures and audience share commentary following the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest; using historical data to include Russia, and grouping the non-participating countries who watch in the ‘remaining audience’

As you can see the largest bulk of the audience comes from the CET-based Viewing Zone 3. In Song Contest terms that’s a 9pm start time outside of the traditional peak time definition. Zone 3 also guarantees a post-midnight finish for most of the audience.

Does Peak Exist Any More?

I said I would come back to the traditional view of peak times, starting with the UK perspective. Indeed 8pm-9pm used to be considered peak time on a Saturday night, with a strange zone known as ‘shoulder peak’ kicking in around 7pm. However over the years, this has quite clearly changed. We need only look at the other entertainment shows that dominate the UK’s Saturday viewing schedule to see proof of that. Let’s take the six most viewed entertainment shows for 2016/2017 in the UK and look at their statistics:

UK Peak Time Shows.

Only two of the top entertainment shows begin at 8pm, and what is arguably the BBC’s flagship entertainment show ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ begins at around 6:40pm and is watched by more than 13 million people.

Peak time has shifted and stretched, Saturday peak is now the 7pm – 9pm viewing window, with shoulder peak having travelled forward to about 6pm, and being the new home slot of the BBC’s flagship drama programme ‘Doctor Who’ which is usually aired with a start time of between 6:15pm and 6:30pm. Incidentally weekday peak time remains at 8pm, along with Sunday peak where other flagship BBC shows are to be found such as ‘Call the Midwife’.

What does all this mean for the Song Contest? Simple. Eurovision is on too late.

It’s too late pretty much everywhere and for everyone. SVT led the charge in 2016 to try and change this on behalf of the other twenty-one countries in their time zone, bringing it in line with their other key broadcast ‘Melodifestivalen’, in which Sweden choose their entrant for the Song Contest, which starts at 8pm – still considered peak time in Sweden.

Taking another broadcaster in Viewing Zone 3 and we can conclude that peak time Saturday across remains at 8pm. If we look at the most popular entertainment shows broadcast in Austria. The ‘Opernball Opening’ which is broadcast on ORF2 attracts an audience just shy of 1.5million (for a nation of 6.5million people, that is some going!) and ‘Dancing Stars’ which is part of the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ family finds its start time on ORF Eins at 8:15pm. The recently aired ‘Wiener Festwochen’ hosted by and starring Eurovision winner Conchita started at 9:20pm. This was held on a Friday, suggesting that European peak time pattern across the week as well as Saturday sits an hour behind the UK.

I have spoken to TV professional in participating countries and looked across the European TV audiences (where figures are available) and you can also see that the most popular TV shows for Saturday night viewing start at around 8pm (8:30pm in France).

Current Peak Time compared to Eurovision start time (Image: Lisa-Jayne Lewis)

It makes for an interesting spreadsheet, but we can quite clearly see at the moment with the 9pm CET start time, the Song Contest hits only four broadcasters within 15 minutes of the start of their peak time (taking Australia out of the equation, as the Contest is broadcast on tape delay in peak time). For a further three broadcasters the start of the Contest falls between 16-30 minutes of the start of peak time.

That leaves a whopping thirty participating countries which see the Song Contest start more than 30 minutes (mostly an hour or more) away from the start of peak time viewing. I cannot find figures for Armenia and Azerbaijan, but as they sit in the same time zone as Georgia I think we can probably add them to the third group as the show starts there at 11pm which points to being a long way outside the start of peak time.

There is another, and completely related illustration of this, in fact you only have to look to National Finals season, and those of us who watch as many livestreams as we can know that by far the most popular start time for National Finals is 8pm; it’s the reason we have to have one on the laptop, one on the iPad and one on the TV some weekends, just to make sure we see them all!

Other countries too have made noise in the past about the start time and the show running over time. Measures such as having announcers now only giving the 10 and 12 points vocally and cutting the ‘chat’ to the show’s hosts, this then moved to only 12 points being announced in 2017. This may have shortened the voting sequence but the running time remains significantly over 3 hours meaning that the Contest ends after midnight in over thirty-nine participating countries, and in many it’s gone 1am.

Voting after midnight

Practical Decisions

Now, I do realise that it’s a bigger thing than someone just saying, “right let’s start it a bit earlier, so we can all get to bed sooner.” Changing what has essentially become the ‘way things are done’ is tricky when you have more than forty participating broadcasters in the mix along with a sizeable chunk of non-participants too.

But if, as is hoped, newer, younger audiences are to be attracted to the Song Contest then surely making the Contest as accessible as possible is key to its success, in this instance access refers to start time. A new start time of 8pm in central Europe, that being 7pm in the UK, seems to me to be a wholly sensible move for pretty much everyone concerned… except Iceland, I know, I’m sorry, but Icelanders are ingenious people who will figure out a way round it! It would also marginally affect working viewers in Spain who, because of average the Spanish working day finishing at 8pm, would have to race home and may miss the start of the show (I’m sure they’d catch up pretty quickly!)

If we run that spreadsheet again and adjust the start time to 8pm in the CET zone we begin to see a different story being painted. In this ‘new world’ the Eurovision Song Contest now hits twenty-one participating countries within 15 minutes of the start of peak time, a further eight have the Contest starting 30-60 minutes away from peak time, all of which except Spain and Iceland now have the Contest starting in ‘shoulder peak’ time, and only eight countries where the time is still more than 30 minutes away from peak time, but using Georgia as an example it would move the contest from a 11pm start to a 10pm start. There are some counties, who simply because of the geography of the continent will always fall outside of the core.

I would love to hear the rationale behind keeping the Eurovision Song Contest at a time convenient to a fraction of its audience, when that same fraction, quite clearly, are perfectly happy and in fact prefer, watching shows that start an hour earlier.

The Eurovision Song Contest starts at a time that is outside of modern day family viewing habits and finishes far too late for an entertainment and variety show. These both conspire to make it harder to attract a younger audience and a new generation of fans.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/09/21/when-should-the-eurovision-song-contest-start/feed/6Eurovision Insight Podcast: Eurovision Castaways, with Sharleen Wrighthttp://escinsight.com/2017/09/15/eurovision-insight-podcast-castaways-sharleen-wright/
http://escinsight.com/2017/09/15/eurovision-insight-podcast-castaways-sharleen-wright/#commentsFri, 15 Sep 2017 21:00:43 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63890The ESC Insight crew are off to Île de Bezençon for the summer with their favourite Eurovision related songs and stories. Next up at the customs desk is Sharleen Wright who has tales of minor crimes and misdemeanours involving Tim Tams, watching the contest as a child in Australia and argues over whether or not Johnny Logan is cool.

The ESC Insight crew are off to Île de Bezençon for the summer with their favourite Eurovision related songs and stories. Next up at the customs desk is Sharleen Wright who has tales of minor crimes and misdemeanours involving Tim Tams, watching the contest as a child in Australia and argues over whether or not Johnny Logan is cool.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/09/15/eurovision-insight-podcast-castaways-sharleen-wright/feed/2Eurovision Insight Podcast: Eurovision Castaways, with Sharleen WrightEurovision Insight Podcast: Eurovision Castaways, with Sharleen Wright<br />
<br />
The ESC Insight crew are off to Ile de Bezencon for the summer with their favourite Eurovision related songs and stories. Next up at the customs desk is Sharleen Wright who has tales of minor crimes and misdemeanours involving Tim Tams, watching the contest as a child in Australia and argues over whether or not Johnny Logan is cool. Stay up to date with the Eurovision Song Contest at www.escinsight.com.Ewan Spenceclean40:50Why Is The Eurovision Song Contest The World’s Favourite Comedy Vehicle?http://escinsight.com/2017/09/13/eurovision-song-contest-comedy-lovely-horse-humor/
http://escinsight.com/2017/09/13/eurovision-song-contest-comedy-lovely-horse-humor/#commentsWed, 13 Sep 2017 15:20:14 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63870Who's got Eurosong Fever? Who can't wait until the competition's on in May? From Father Ted and Monty Python to Stephen Colbert and Edward af Sillén, the Eurovision Song Contest provides an easy punchline, but there's more to the sequins than the non sequiturs. Samantha Ross asks why the Eurovision Song Contest is such a rich source of humour and a target for comedians the world over.

]]>The Eurovision Song Contest can mean all manner of things to people. To some, it’s about nine hours worth of light entertainment television each May, an occasion to break out their miniature flags and come up with cocktails and appetizers to serve to their friends while the votes roll in. For others, it’s serious business, even a pursuit worthy of intensive study – isn’t that right, Dr. Eurovision? And to still others, it’s a target of disdain: an all-too-political, all-too-cheesy, all-too-flamboyant train wreck of a spectacle.

But for many entertainers over the past few decades, the Eurovision Song Contest is a comedic goldmine. After all, what’s not to laugh about? For those who haven’t wrapped themselves in a true love for the Contest, the frenetic costume changes, oversized props, and inflatable hammers are more than a little risible. But when the Contest is used as comedic fodder in the media it’s not really the contest that’s being mocked. Rather, it’s indicative of a number of deeper sociological trends that we, as consumers of comedy, tend to respond to.

Comedy Is A Serious Business

It may seem counter-intuitive to go all academic in order to discuss what makes people do something as natural as laugh, but in his book ‘Quirkology’, author and Professor of Public Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire Richard Wiseman takes a few chapters to focus on what makes a joke funny. He established an internationally-sourced database of jokes called LaughLab, which not only allowed users to submit their favourite rib-ticklers, but also allowed them to assess what others had submitted.

After a year, over 40,000 jokes were sent in and approximately 1.5 million ratings were recorded. While very few jokes were universally embraced, many of the ones that trended positively did incorporate a common thread; according to Wiseman “they create a sense of superiority in the reader”.

For example… a mark appearing stupid:

“Did you hear about the man who was proud when he completed a jigsaw puzzle within thirty minutes, because it said ‘5-6 years’ on the box?”

…an ego getting deflated…

“Texan: ‘Where are you from?’
Harvard Graduate: ‘I come from a place where we do not end our sentences with prepositions.’
Texan: ‘Okay – where are you from, Jackass?’”

…or authority being questioned…

“A teacher decided to take her bad mood out on her class of children and so said, ‘Can everyone who thinks they’re stupid, stand up!’ After a few seconds, just one child stood up. The teacher turned to the child and said, ‘Do you think you’re stupid?’ ‘No,’ replied the child, ‘but I hate to see you standing there all by yourself.’”

The Division Of Humour

People often use comedy to create subconscious divisions between ‘us’ and ‘others’. This isn’t limited to Anglophone humor; while jokes about the English and Irish fly back and forth between the two nations and Polish jokes are all-too-common in American comedy, the French often poke fun at the Belgians and the Germans have a plethora of jokes about the East Frisians.

Soon after the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest, ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ not only used a cavalcade of clips from the show in Stockholm to highlight the goings-on (including, of course, raucous laughter and howls after presenting Ivan’s nude hologram with a wolf), but then insisted that America could do it better and win Eurovision 2017, revealing the stylings of Nórnaäs’s ‘The Living Life’.

To all appearances, it looks like Colbert is poking fun at the Song Contest directly, but this clip has a bit more under the surface, especially in the context of other popular American comedy motifs. While we Americans love our friends across the Pond, it’s not uncommon for our humor to bend towards skewering Europe. From the Festrunk Brothers on classic episodes of Saturday Night Live to Family Guy’s Tomik and Bellgarde, some of our closest diplomatic allies are often our deepest sources for comedic fodder.

Eurovision, as an entity, isn’t well-known enough Stateside to be seen with the same automatic lightheartedness that a British or Irish audience might see… at this point, it’s just something “those wacky Europeans” do, like having different plugs, avoiding high fructose corn syrup, or providing citizens with reasonable healthcare.

Søren Pilmark and Natasja Crone Back had a unique presentation style in 2011 that some commentators chose to highlight.

Comedy is not only used to mock the differences between groups, but it is also used to galvanise and emphasise commonalities from within. The usage of the ‘inside joke’ among groups as small as a pair of siblings or as large as the Eurovision fan community is nothing new.

Looking at the smallest of scales, an niche inside joke about how the lead singer of Hotel FM’s favourite instrument is actually the children’s TV character Pingu may make absolutely no sense to the world as a whole, but for the members of the press corps who were sitting at a specific table in Düsseldorf in 2011, that will always be something shared amongst that incredibly small group.

Expanding the lens from macro to panorama, ‘Love Love Peace Peace’ did the exact same thing for Eurovision Song Contest viewers. For fans from all over the world, it was a treasure trove of references that we all keep in our memory banks, from the flaming piano and hamster wheel to Loreen’s choreography and Carola’s wind machine. While any viewer could enjoy the song, it was truly a love letter to the global community of fans.

Stop It, This Is Getting Far Too Silly

Wiseman’s study also touched upon using comedy as a way to take down the establishment, and few were as deft at this in general as the men behind ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’. Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the troupe’s sketch show was televised, the United Kingdom was on a bit of a Eurovision hot streak, with its first win coming only two years before the show initially aired, and the second just a few months prior to the show’s premiere.

During the time that Monty Python was on the air, the UK never came any lower than 4th. The Contest was a part of the cultural landscape, especially on the BBC, yet it was still seen as a fun bit of light, fluffy entertainment. That easy-to-watch, lighthearted television fare, therefore, stood in a perfect contrast to the serious nature of law enforcement and Cold War-era politics. The Pythons, no stranger to poking fun at the institutions that surrounded them, took aim and fired.

In November 1970, as Terry Jones, dressed as a member of the Metropolitan Police, belted out ‘Sgt. Duckie’s Song’ his entry in the ‘Europolice Song Contest’, only to lose to Monaco’s Jean-Paul Zatapathique’s ‘Bing Tiddle Tiddle Bong’’. Not only was the troupe playfully ribbing the nonsensical nature of recent winners (this is right around the time of ‘La, La, La’ and ‘Boom-Bang-a-Bang’), but also taking the often-staid law enforcement establishment down a peg or two by having them perform silly songs for the amusement of the masses. (That being said, I still personally think that Graham Chapman’s rendition of ‘Bing Tiddle Tiddle Bong’ should have gotten him a direct ticket to the 1971 Contest…)

Similarly, just a few weeks later, the ‘World Forum/Communist Quiz’ sketch brought heavy-hitters Karl Marx, Che Guevara, Vladimir Lenin, and Mao Zedong around the table, seemingly to discuss and debate the heady sociopolitical topics of the day, but the scene quickly devolves into a quiz about FA Cup history and, yes, the Eurovision Song Contest. However, it should be noted that while Chairman Mao’s answer of ‘Sing Little Birdie’ was marked correct by the moderator, any Eurovision fan worth their salt knows that Teddy Scholten’s ‘Een Beetje’ actually won the Song Contest in 1959…minus five points to you, Eric Idle.

Watching the ideological standard-bearers of Communism tartle and flail as they fail to come up with the name of Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson’s Eurovision evergreen brings up feelings of schadenfreude, especially given the context of the Cold War and the early days of NATO. As far as taking sober, austere concepts like law and order and global geopolitics and deflating them, these sketches in Monty Python’s arsenal are just as effective as the ‘Upper Class Twit of the Year’ or the ‘Ministry of Silly Walks’, only using Eurovision as the comedic theme, rather than physical humour.

It’s certainly not a tactic that’s limited to Monty Python. While American institution Saturday Night Live may not use the Eurovision Song Contest, pieces like ‘Janet Reno’s Dance Party’ where the then-Attorney General of the United States danced the Mashed Potato with a bunch of teenagers use the same approach. The contrast between high culture and pop culture is really what makes sketches like these shine.

Horses, Tents, And Airline Stewards

Comedy isn’t always about highlighting the positive; it can also draw attention to an individual’s foibles and failures. Rodney Dangerfield’s classic self-deprecation is a great example from the world of stand-up, and the misanthropic, deeply flawed, yet lovable character of Bernard Black from Black Books falls into this pattern.

One of the most successful jokes in Wiseman’s study plays on this concept, as well:

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping. They pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said:

“Watson, look up at the sky, and tell me what you see.”

Watson replied: “I see millions and millions of stars.”

Holmes said: “And what do you deduce from that?”

Watson replied: “Well, if there are millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like Earth out there. And if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life.”

And Holmes said: “Watson, you idiot, it means that somebody stole our tent.”

Arguably the most famous piece of comedy involving the Eurovision Song Contest is the Father Ted episode ‘A Song For Europe’. The premise parodies the perceived embarrassment of riches of the real-life Irish delegation at Eurovision during the mid 1990’s, when hosting four contests in five years became as much of a curse as it did a blessing. The running joke was that RTÉ would intentionally try to throw the Song Contest at some point so it would not go bankrupt.

Not only does ‘A Song For Europe’ take the lessons of our last section, taking the decorous concept of the clergy and turning it on its head, but it also highlights very humanising flaws. Dougal’s naïveté, Ted’s impatience, their shared inability to create a song. We laugh at ‘My Lovely Horse’, but in all honestly, many of us (myself included) could do no better… and it remains one of the UK’s most loved Eurovision songs, even though it never entered the Contest.

Interestingly enough, a full year earlier, the short-lived BBC 2 sitcom ‘The High Life’ starring a young Alan Cumming toed a similar line and sadly, ended up with a similar nil-points result at a fictionalised Scottish ‘Song For Europe‘ National Final. While the scene ends with a more poignant, humanising tone about the nature of disappointment and self-confidence (granted, while completely drunk following their televised humiliation), the story of the rise and fall of ‘Pif Paf Pof’ still plays on the same themes as its counterpart from Craggy Island, as well as the tale of Sherlock and Doctor Watson.

And Now For The Punchline

Comedy fulfills more roles in society than just an endorphin release. It’s a shared experience, one that creates a community yet has the power to create rifts between populations. It creates the opportunity to laugh at another’s shortcomings, but also forces us to consider our own. It highlights the divisions between highbrow and lowbrow, taking the institutions of our society down a peg. In various forms of Anglophone humour over the past six decades, the Eurovision Song Contest has managed to be used as a way to play with these concepts by being the medium of the joke, rather than being the butt of it. It might not have been part of Marcel Bezençon’s initial vision of the Contest, but, in a way, this unintended side-effect fits perfectly into his dream of bringing the people of Europe (and now, the entire world) together. After all, what’s more indicative of our shared humanity than laughter?

Writing this article has got me wondering: do the patterns that I’ve been seeing in anglophone comedy play the same way in other languages and cultures? Leave us a comment and let us know about your favourite ESC-focused sketches, parody songs, or other bits that maybe have passed me by!

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/09/13/eurovision-song-contest-comedy-lovely-horse-humor/feed/4Eurovision Insight Podcast: In The End There Can Be Only Onehttp://escinsight.com/2017/09/09/eurovision-insight-podcast-news-september-8th-2017/
http://escinsight.com/2017/09/09/eurovision-insight-podcast-news-september-8th-2017/#commentsSat, 09 Sep 2017 17:22:47 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63865As the season gets under way, Ewan Spence rounds up the current state of play with Junior Eurovision 2017 and the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in the latest ESC Insight news podcast, along with developments in Asia and music from Benny Andersson's piano.

]]>It’s been a hectic summer, but the Eurovision Song Contest season is under way and there’s lots to catch up on. Ewan Spence sits down with the entry lists, dates, and information from Eurovision, Junior, and Eurovision Asia so you can catch up on all the news since Portugal’s victory in May.

Eurovision Insight Podcast: In The End There Can Be Only One

The latest news on Junior Eurovision 2017 and Eurovision 2018, along with developments in Asia and music from Benny Andersson’s piano. Hosted by Ewan Spence.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/09/09/eurovision-insight-podcast-news-september-8th-2017/feed/3The latest news on Junior Eurovision 2017 and Eurovision 2018, along with developments in Asia and music from Benny Andersson's piano.The latest news on Junior Eurovision 2017 and Eurovision 2018, along with developments in Asia and music from Benny Andersson's piano. Stay up to date with the Eurovision Song Contest at www.escinsight.com.Ewan Spenceclean23:00Let’s Play Another Game Of Ten Thousand To Onehttp://escinsight.com/2017/08/31/lets-play-a-game-of-ten-thousand-to-one/
http://escinsight.com/2017/08/31/lets-play-a-game-of-ten-thousand-to-one/#commentsThu, 31 Aug 2017 10:20:03 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63853You might think September 1st is a big day in the Eurovision calendar, but Ewan Spence wants to argue for today, August 31st, as a day to enjoy.

]]>There’s a secret about today. August 31st is the quietest point of the Eurovision Song Contest year. There is an eerie stillness on the internet. Everyone is waiting, everyone knows what is about to happen, and everyone is very excited. The journey is about to start. To coin a phrase, it’s the calm before the storm.

September 1st is a line in the digital sand for fans of the Eurovision Song Contest. Songs that are ‘commercially available’ before this date are ineligible for next year’s Song Contest. But any song released from today can be considered as a potential (assuming it meets all the other rules). For the last few years, the community has decided that the first is the end of the ‘off-season’ and the Contest will be once more under way.

Tomorrow, the grand game of culling ten thousand songs down to just one will begin again.

Every Song That Was Ever Considered

Yes, ten thousand songs.

For the last five years I’ve kept a track of the number of songs that have been announced as entering a National Final. Not every broadcaster announces the number every year, and each year there is a bit of give and take in the numbers that enter… but when everything smooths out, the number of songs that are submitted to broadcasters each year is close enough to ten thousand that it’s become my personal rule of thumb.

I don’t think anyone has ever managed to hear all of them. Apart from the time required (at eight hours a day, you’re looking at nearly 63 days, nine weeks non stop), many of the songs are submitted to a broadcaster and never revealed. Latvia’s Supernova may have had 168 public submissions in the 2016/17 season, but there isn’t a handy playlist for all of these songs.

The widest reach is beyond everyone. But there is a solid foundation, the eight hundred odd songs that make it through to be shortlisted in such a way that the public can hear them, be it in the live National Final shows, or on websites looking to whittle the lists down before a live round.

In that mix you will find every single genre.. There will be your classic schlager alongside screamo metal core, a power ballad beside an RnB stomper, and some light jazz nudging up to a dash of opera. An army of creative thinkers are about to cry havoc and let slip songs of war, songs of peace, songs of love, and songs of… well, pretty much anything.

All of that is waiting to be discovered in the run up to May. Yes, one song will walk away with the pride of winning, but every performer should be able to hold their head high as they look towards one of the biggest musical nights in the business.

Don’t Stop Believing

This is a journey to be enjoyed. I believe that in our collection of ten thousand songs, there will be a handful of songs that will enchant, entrance, and enthrall me. Songs that will stick with me for ever more. Maybe they will reach a televised round, maybe they will get to Lisbon, maybe that’s the one song that will lift the trophy.

While that matters to the history books, in a sense it doesn’t matter at all. This year, Eurovision is going to have a song that you fall in love with. All you need to do is keep listening and you’ll find a tiny moment that you will fall in love with.

That’s the real secret of August 31st. It’s the pause, the quiet moment, the silence… where everyone is together on the same page, excited to find out what the year holds. This is the moment where the community stands as one.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/08/31/lets-play-a-game-of-ten-thousand-to-one/feed/2Eurovision Insight Podcast: Eurovision Castaways, with John Paul Lucashttp://escinsight.com/2017/08/28/eurovision-insight-podcast-castaways-john-paul-lucas/
http://escinsight.com/2017/08/28/eurovision-insight-podcast-castaways-john-paul-lucas/#commentsMon, 28 Aug 2017 08:38:42 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63847This week, our castaway on Ile de Bezencon is John Paul Lucas. He tells us how Ira Losco blew his mind in 2002, regales us with tales of near-death experiences at Eurovision parties and has issues with the concept of the 'wrong sort' of Eurovision fan.

]]>After a short ‘in real life’ break, it’s time to return to the Île de Bezençon for the next episode in ESC Insight’s summer series. Everyone needs music on holiday, but because of some rather exquisite border rules, guests to the island can only bring eight Eurovision records and a luxury with them… and you need to get them past customs.

Ellie Chalkley is still on border duty as John Paul Lucas remembers Malta, near-death experiences, and the wrong type of Eurovision fan.

The ESC Insight crew continues to travel to Île de Bezençon for the summer with their favourite Eurovision related songs and stories. John Paul Lucas is the next visitor to argue for his musical choices to be allowed across the border.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/08/28/eurovision-insight-podcast-castaways-john-paul-lucas/feed/2Eurovision Castaways Podcast, with John Paul LucasEurovision Castaway John Paul Lucas takes us from the glitter of Ira Loscoe to the fan reaction to Zoe with his eight songs for Ile de Bezencon.Ellie Chalkleyclean51:53Eurovision Insight Podcast: In-Depth With Songwriter Bill Martinhttp://escinsight.com/2017/08/21/eurovision-insight-interview-bill-martin-congratulations-puppet-on-a-string/
http://escinsight.com/2017/08/21/eurovision-insight-interview-bill-martin-congratulations-puppet-on-a-string/#commentsMon, 21 Aug 2017 17:09:59 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63835Eurovision fans will know Bill Martin as the man behind 'Puppet on a String' and 'Congratulations'. Ewan Spence talks in-depth with Martin about his Eurovision memories, his new book, and who would sing his song for Scotland.

]]>Bill Martin’s musical career stretches over fifty years, from his first taste of success with Adam Faith to his upcoming collaborations with artists including Celine Dion. For ESC Insight readers, two of his biggest hits are going to be instantly recognisable (Sandie Shaw’s ‘Puppet On A String‘, and Cliff Richard’s ‘Congratulations‘).

Ewan caught up with Bill at his show in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, to talk about his career, winning the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK, his other involvements with the Song Contest, and who he’d get to sing Scotland’s first Eurovision song…

Eurovision Insight Podcast: In-Depth With Songwriter Bill Martin

Ewan Spence shares a drink with songwriter Bill Martin to talk about his Eurovision memories, with ‘Puppet on a String’, ‘Congratulations’, ‘Let Me Be The One’, ‘All Kinds Of Everything’, and more…

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/08/21/eurovision-insight-interview-bill-martin-congratulations-puppet-on-a-string/feed/2Ewan Spence talks in-depth with UK songwriter Bill Martin, the man behind Puppet On A String and Congratulations.Eurovision fans will know Bill Martin as the man behind Puppet on a String and Congratulations but the prolific songwriter has more connections and stories from his long association with the Song Contest. Ewan Spence talks in-depth with Martin about his memories, his new book, and who would sing his song for Scotland. Read more on the Eurovision Song Contest from ESC Insight at www.escinsight.com.Ewan Spenceclean30:28Portugal’s Big Decision: The Politics And Logistics Behind Lisbon 2018http://escinsight.com/2017/07/29/why-is-lisbon-host-city-eurovision-song-contest-2108/
http://escinsight.com/2017/07/29/why-is-lisbon-host-city-eurovision-song-contest-2108/#commentsSat, 29 Jul 2017 17:14:47 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63811It's Lisbon! While fans may have thought it was a foregone conclusion, there's been a lot going on Keith Mills looks at the politics and logistics of Portugal's decision to host the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon.

]]>On Tuesday 25th July, Portuguese broadcaster RTP hit the first of its Eurovision 2018 targets by announcing the host city and dates for next year’s contest, but it was the heavy hints in the press conference and subsequent interviews that may give us a better insight on what to expect next May.

No Surprises

Anyone who knows the EBU’s shopping list for the Eurovision Song Contest will not be surprised that the Portuguese capital saw off the other challengers to win the honour of becoming Portugal’s first host city.

The suggestions from RTP in the days after Salvador Sobral’s victory in Kyiv, indicated that Lisbon’s hosting was already a done deal. After all, the 20,000 capacity Atlantic Pavilion (MEO Arena) had been earmarked as Portugal’s venue of choice since it opened back in 1998. So why was there a two month delay in finally confirming the venue and date?

One reason is that in June, RTP had to react appropriately to the appalling wildfires which claimed over sixty lives in the Pedrógão Grande area. Dealing with such a distressing tragedy, clearly was RTP’s priority and as the national broadcaster it played a major role in organising the “Juntos Por Todos” (Together For All) benefit concert which was staged at very short notice in the MEO Arena on June 27th. The concert included live performances from leading Portuguese music acts including Ana Moura, Rui Veloso, David Fonseca, Camané, Amor Electro, Carlos de Carmo, and Luisa and Salvador Sobral. The concert was broadcast on all Portuguese TV channels and raised over a million euros for victims of the tragedy. It also gave foreign viewers a chance to look at the likely Eurovision venue as well as a likely presenter, Katarina Furtado, who hosted the show.

The second issue causing the delay was the host city bidding process and to understand why that was required, you need to appreciate something of the politics of Portugal and how they impact broadcasting.

Since its foundation in 1935, the Portuguese national broadcaster has been headquartered in Lisbon. This year the television service celebrated its 60th anniversary, making it one of the longest established television channels in Europe. While its services cover all the Lusophone countries, it has always been based in Lisbon. Indeed RTP’s headquarters are only a ten minute drive from the Eurovision 2018 venue.

Being based in the capital means that RTP is seen as being close to national government and part of the Portuguese establishment. It also opens it up to charges of being too focussed on Lisbon, at the expense of Portugal’s other regions, a charge that local politicians can use to appeal to their support base.

Consequently the Eurovision Song Contest hosting choice risked becoming the rope in a Portuguese regional tug-of-war if other cities were not considered as potential venues for one of the biggest international events ever to be staged in the country. While it was almost always certain that Lisbon would host, RTP had to be seen to give consideration to other cities, lest it be accused of being too Lisbon-centric.

It also has to be remembered that in 2016 Lisbon became the venue of the highly lucrative Web Summit, which caused envy in other cities, not just in Portugal.

Rosa Morta Pavillion, Portugal. Maybe next time?

The Lack Of Alternatives

The most obvious alternative Eurovision Song Contest host city was Porto in the north. It’s the only city with the required number of hotel rooms and an international airport (albeit with far fewer connections than Lisbon).

However with its only large arena, the Rosa Mota Pavilion, being upgraded and unavailable, the bids from nearby towns Gondomar and Santa Maria Da Feira faced huge logistical challenges and the proposed venues were just too small to be considered. Two other northern cities, Braga and Guimarães also expressed interest, but with smaller venues, challenges on hotel rooms and the distance from an international airport, they always struggled in comparison to Lisbon. Portimão in the Algarve’s token interest had more than a ring of ‘me too’ about it.

When it came to a choice, one option stood head and shoulders above the others. It was always going to be Lisbon.

The 21st century Song Contest is a very different beast to the Contest which was staged in the tiny Irish town of Millstreet in 1993. In the quarter-century that has passed the event has doubled in terms of competing nations, and the size of the live audience and travelling press and fan entourage is several multiples of what it once was. The idea of bussing people from hotels in nearby towns on a daily basis now seems rather quaint and by contrast, Lisbon is likely to the biggest Eurovision related tourist boom in the history of the Contest.

Lisbon Gets Ready

With a state of the art 20,000 capacity venue, an international airport offering flights to over 120 cities, a modern efficient public transport system and one of Europe’s most popular city break locations offering a huge variety of accommodation options, Lisbon ticks every Eurovision box for the perfect host city. Then you get to consider the good weather, nearby beaches and famous nightlife.

It was notable that the city’s mayor was one of the dignitaries at the press conference which confirmed Lisbon as host and already the city authorities are providing one of its major public spaces, Terreiro Do Paço (Palace Yard) also known as Praca do Comercio (Commercial Square) as the site of the Eurovillage.

Lisbon’s TerreiroDoPaco, this could be our EuroVillage.

This downtown square on the banks of the Tagus is an iconic Lisbon landmark with a chequered history will become a magnet for visitors next May when it is transformed into the Eurovillage for ten days. The square regularly hosts big events such as the Earth From Above exhibition and live screenings of big football games. It is planned that those who want to watch the live Eurovision shows but who cannot get tickets for the arena will be able to see them on big screens in the square. Though it has yet to be officially confirmed, the nearby Pátio da Galé (Gale’s Courtyard) or Praça do Município (Mayor’s Office) may be used for the Eurovision Red Carpet welcome event.

Lisbon Tourism is already heavily involved in the Eurovision planning, so visitors can expect the city to be brightly dressed for the event as well as having many exciting options for tours and special events. With a commitment to spread the organisation of the contest throughout the city, many visiting fans may wait to see the location of the venues for the Euroclub and Eurocafe before deciding where to stay in Lisbon.

The National Tourist Board is also helping out on this unique opportunity to showcase Portugal to the World. With tourism being such a large and growing part of the economy, it would be surprising if the Eurovision postcards did not feature the attractions that Portugal offers, just as Austria did in 2015. Expect everything from painted tiles and custard tarts to ocean surfing and the internationally famed Port wine.

Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães, Fesitval Da Cancai 2018’s venue.

Festival Da Cancao 2018

As well as the Eurovision Song Contest dates and venue and Eurovillage location, RTP made a number of other significant announcements.

As already speculated, Portugal’s Eurovision selection will not be in Lisbon. Festival da Canção will be moved from Lisbon and hosted in the northern city of Guimarães, as something of a consolation prize for not hosting Eurovision. The Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães has a seated capacity of 8,000 and while that could be reduced for a large stage and camera positions, it should still allow RTP to make tickets available to the general public (unlike the 2017 show).

Interest in all things Eurovision has never been higher in Portugal and Guimarães may see a visitor boost in early March.

Next year’s Portuguese selection is broadly based on the same format as 2017, with two semi-finals and a final. For 2018 a total of 20 songs will compete in two semi-finals, staged in RTP’s studios in Lisbon with the finalists making their way to Guimarães for the final on March 4th. Once again RTP are likely to invite selected songwriters and producers, but one name that won’t be on the list is Luisa Sobral, the songwriter of ‘Amar Pelos Dois‘. Luisa has said that she wants this year’s Eurovision experience to be a one-off special memory.

Those Heavy Hints

While the official logo and slogan for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 have yet to be officially announced, it was confirmed in the press conference that the Song Contest’s theme and branding will have a connection with seas and oceans, as befits Lisbon’s long, proud nautical history. With a Contest venue built on the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, Lisbon’s place as Europe’s bridge to the world is likely to play a big part in the event’s unique branding.

Eurovision 2018 reaches the Lisbon bus shelters.

RTP is believed to be working with a provisional budget of around 26 million euros in total. That’s in line with Stockholm 2016 and Vienna 2015, but that money is likely to go further in Portugal due to lower costs. However when interviewed on the evening news RTP’s President Gonçalo Reis gave a commitment that the Contest “will be the most economical in recent years”. Reis said that RTP would look at transposing the values ​​that marked Salvador Sobral’s Eurovision victory in 2017 into the organisation of next year’s Contest. Values ​​such as authenticity, simplicity and elegance over excess will be core values for Lisbon 2018.

If at all possible, RTP will have to have a cost-neutral event.

This will not come as a surprise to most people in Portugal. RTP has a record of providing top quality programming on relatively modest budgets. The television licence fee which funded RTP was abolished in 1992 and was replaced with a direct government subsidy and advertisements. A radio licence fee was introduced in the early 1990s to fund public radio channels which are advertising-free, and which is charged through electricity bills under the name ‘Taxa de Contribuição Audiovisual’ (Portuguese for ‘Broadcasting Contribution Tax’). The radio licence fee is approximately €33 per year, but this money cannot be used for Eurovision.

MEO Arena from the sky.

What Next As RTP Prepares For Eurovision 2018?

RTP’s next main challenges are commercial and technical. As the third most watched TV channel i the country (behind commercial broadcasters TVI and SIC) RTP will have to raise much of the money to fund the Eurovision Song Contest from commercial sponsorship, so as not to impact other programming demands.

As well as input from the tourist board, negotiations with some of Portugal’s major companies have already begun and large international brands are also likely to want a piece of the action in a young and growing economy. Interestingly the press conference did not refer to the MEO Arena directly. This is primarily because the venue is likely to go through name change for the Song Contest, just as happened with the Düsseldorf Arena/Espirit Arena in 2011 due to advertising restrictions. No doubt RTP is still negotiating with a telecoms network sponsor such as MEO. Expect sponsorship announcements to be made later in the year as this money will fund much of the infrastructural costs until ticket sales are generated.

Unlike the confusion and chaos in the ticketing arrangements in Kyiv, RTP is likely to engage with a major international ticketing organisation and it is likely that Eurovision Song Contest tickets will go on sale before the end of the year as the venue has a long history of staging big events, which lessens the logistical challenges.

The technical challenges come with staging such demanding live shows and making them look good on screen, as well as in the arena. Back in May the Portuguese Eurovision delegation suggested that they would use the long-established German & Swedish technical teams that have worked on most of the recent contests. However the RTP President’s comments on the values that they would use for next year’s Contest may throw that into doubt… RTP may yet choose to go with its in-house expertise. Indeed many Eurovision watchers might suggest that a fresh insight and less ‘off the shelf’ production values and concepts is just what the Contest needs to break the deja-vu nature of recent years.

One way or another, it’s clear that RTP has its own ideas and values that will take precedence in 2018. This is Eurovision, Portuguese style.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/07/29/why-is-lisbon-host-city-eurovision-song-contest-2108/feed/1Reviewing Eurovision Choir of the Year 2017http://escinsight.com/2017/07/25/review-eurovision-choir-year-2017/
http://escinsight.com/2017/07/25/review-eurovision-choir-year-2017/#respondTue, 25 Jul 2017 09:43:59 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63798The songs have been sung, the judges have judged and we have a winner of 2017's inaugural Eurovision Choir of the Year. Lisa-Jayne Lewis takes a look back at the evenings' programme and the variety of choral music on show in Arena Riga.

]]>Yes, yes, I know I’m a bit late with this, I’ve been working on a secret project with a song contest artist which you will no doubt find out about in due course! (ahem – Ed). I do hope you were watching the inaugural Eurovision Choir of the Year, and unless you’ve been under a rock for the past two days you will know that Slovenia’s choir Carmen Manet took the title; second place was given to Wales and third place to Latvia.

Celebrate Diversity

I know this was the theme of this years Eurovision Song Contest, but we really saw it come to fruition in Riga. There was a vast diversity of musical and choral styles in the programme, a little something for everyone I’d say. Jazz, chamber, folk, wine-song, African close harmony and a few mad moments along the way, were all showcased by the nine choirs who competed, here’s a bit of a run down (with some opinion) in case you missed it…

We open with a beautiful video which, if nothing else, will make you want to visit Riga, the sun rises over the city and we are treated to some great shots up the river. We move into the arena where representatives of each choir are joined by 600 other singers in a mass choir piece called Fly to Paradise, composed and conducted by Eric Whitacre who is one of our hosts of the evening. We meet our other host Eva, a well-known cultural TV presented in Latvia.

Each choir is introduced by a short postcard video, similar to the Song Contest and Junior Eurovision, first up is Estonia…

ETV Girls Choir, Estonia

They are choosing to present one entire piece, however it comes in several movements, beginning quiet and ethereal and moves into a more declamatory section. The all-girls choir moves around the stage creating several formations, they are dressed in traditional Estonian costumes, and every one of them has French braids in their hair. The piece finishes with some dramatic vocal sliding and torch lights. This is a wonderful merging of choral singing and folk music, great openers to the show.

Academic Choir of Aarhus, Denmark

Our first mixed choir of the night therefore naturally producing a fuller and rounder sound with the addition of male voices. We begin with the first piece which is somewhat traditional, possibly what you’d expect from a choir, it does in fact remind me a little of the choral section at the beginning of Riverdance. We then move into a very quirky and bold piece for the second part of their programme. I give full credit to those taking the solo leads, they’ve been asked to do something pretty outrageous, which is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.

Les Pasteureaux, Belgium

In our first view we see the boys in assorted colour polo shirts with black shorts and trousers. I hate to go straight for the outfit choice, but it’s so uncreative and unimaginative that it sets me up to think their programme is likely to be a bit dull. The first piece is good, but kind of what I expected, it’s a great example of timing control. The pause in between the two pieces is just on the wrong side of uncomfortable. The second piece feels like the wrong song for this choir. Almost like they thought we have to do something contemporary or everyone will think we’re old fashioned, yet I think it comes across that this choir is not used to singing this style at all. I want authenticity in the Eurovision Song Contest, I want it in Choir of the Year too please.

Jazzchor Freiburg, Germany

We start with some vocal beat boxing and a sound that wouldn’t be out of place in a remake of The Lion King. This is a little bit cheesy but the sound is very impressive, African close harmony is not easy to do at all without wandering off the notes and I must say I’m pretty impressed. The monochrome colouring looks good, sticking to black and white and allowing each performer to choose their own outfit works really well. The second piece is equally cheesy but good – and hey, it’s Eurovison (of sorts) after all, we need a little bit of cheese. There is some great harmony work and the beat boxing continues and definitely adds a nice finish to this performance. Think what you’d like, I’d buy their CD!

Carmen Manet, Slovenia

A stylish and classy look and feel coming from the ladies of Carmen Manet. The grey/green colour story looks just stunning on TV, before they’ve even started I’m expecting great things from this choir. A beautiful ethereal and soft start to their programme, with a beautiful vocal tone exhibited by the soloists and the choir as a whole. There is storytelling throughout the performance, they are not just singing the song, they are telling the story of the song too. Whilst the choir move through a few different styles, they all feel authentic and, correct, for want of a better word. This choir lack nothing for not having any male voices in it, a well thought out and executed programme.

Béla Bartók, Hungary

Wine and singing, what’s not to love! There is nothing like the power of a male- voice choir. This choir have the ability to present the bold and forceful passages as well as the softer more gentle phrases, transitioning between the two with easy and calmness. It’s very easy in a choir to show too much anticipation of what’s to come and that can leave the audience feeling uncomfortable, none of that here. Hungarian wine-song genre showcased brilliantly. I just wished they’d necked the wine at the end of it – I bet they wanted to!

Côr Merched Sir Gâr, Wales

Of course we are expecting to hear the Welsh language here and that is what we’ve got with the first part of the programme. I have to say I’m not loving the outfit that they’ve chosen, it’s a bit too old for a choir of secondary school girls and the colour is not great on TV, however the ethereal Celtic sound generated by these ladies is amazing, so pure and so fresh, it’s no wonder Wales has such a great reputation for music. A programme in three parts, the last being probably the most well-known piece of music Wade in the Water, their arrangement of it is amazing, true to the song, yet true to them too.

HardChor Linz, Austria

Another nation known for it’s classical music, but you don’t have to scratch too far below the surface to discover another layer of Austrian music. HardChor Linz are not exactly hard-core as the name would suggest, but more quirky, folky and generally entertaining. Choral singing can be fun and entertaining, it doesn’t have to be standing in rows making cathedral-style sounds or operatic arias. The is folk choral music at it’s most happiest, most relaxed and most fun. It certainly won’t be up everyone’s street, but it’s got me smiling (I know, I’m a little biased *waves Austrian flag up high).

Spīgo, Latvia

I’m not surprised they put the home nation at the end, knowing it would get a big reception from the crowd. This choir have really bought us full circle, from where we started in Estonia with folk choral music back to that genre. The traditional costuming and the musical programme all serve to showcase Latvia’s rich musical heritage. And yet for all that tradition, this feels like a modern choir. There is a beautiful blending of the ancient and modern and each girl looks very comfortable in her part. It is great to see a female conductor too, the only one of the evening, in a role completely dominated by men.

Not-so-Eurovision

So, the three judges made a decision and Slovenia was announced the winner, truth be told that was the one part of the show that was a bit of an anti-climax. Yes we had three world renowned music heavyweights giving their soundbite comments and ultimately deciding who would win, but where were the international juries, the sense of jeopardy, the 12 points?! Maybe it will come in the future, maybe this was a year of experimenting to see if it could work as a part of the Eurovision family of events, so I’ll let them off, but if you’re doing it again we need a bit of voting drama, and maybe some hosts who can actually host without looking smarmy or wooden, though of course we know that the words ‘Eurovision’ and ‘hosting’ have never been exactly comfortable together!

Let’s do it all again!

Yes let’s, really, I mean that. It was a great show and as someone who has sung in choirs and vocal harmony groups since the age of 12 (I’m now almost 40) and performed everything from Handel to Conchita and quite a lot in between, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Viewers were introduced to a wide collection of choral genres, choir types and national cultures – long may Eurovision Choir of the Year continue!

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/07/25/review-eurovision-choir-year-2017/feed/0Your Guide To Tonight’s Eurovision Choir of the Yearhttp://escinsight.com/2017/07/22/how-to-watch-eurovision-choir-of-the-year/
http://escinsight.com/2017/07/22/how-to-watch-eurovision-choir-of-the-year/#commentsSat, 22 Jul 2017 13:48:57 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63782Tonight sees the first edition of the Eurovision Choir Of The Year streaming around the world live from Riga, Latvia. Lisa-Jayne Lewis has all the information you need ahead of tonight's broadcast, including an introduction to the judges, the running order, and how to watch.

]]>Following on from Wednesday’s introduction to the Eurovision Choir Of The Year where we met our choirs and took a look at the rules of the Choir of the Year Contest, today let’s meet the three judges who will decide which choir will take home the trophy.

The Judges

Elīna Garanča

Elīna Garanča was born into a musical family in Riga, Latvia, where her father was a choral conductor and her mother a singer, under whom she learned at the Latvian Academy of Music before continuing her studies in Vienna and the United States.

It was Garanča’s triumphant 2003 Salzburg Festival debut, as Annio in La clemenza di Tito with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, that was responsible for her international breakthrough. She made her Vienna State Opera debut as Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana and became a regular with the company, initially specializing in Mozart roles before becoming equally dominant in bel canto and Romantic repertoire. Her Viennese appearances included Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with Riccardo Muti, and seminal accounts of two roles on which she would indelibly put her stamp: Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier and Charlotte in a new, televised staging of Massenet’s Werther. To date, she has sung more than 150 performances with the company.

The Latvian mezzo-soprano is consistently praised for her iconic portrayals of the leading roles in her repertoire. Forging deep connections with each part she plays, she is a consummate artist whose distinctively dark, sultry voice boasts a power and warmth to which her regal bearing and alluring looks provide the perfect counterpoise. She regularly headlines landmark productions at the world’s leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Bavarian State Opera, and Vienna State Opera, where she recently became the youngest female singer to be honored with a Kammersängerin Award.

John Rutter

John was born in London in 1945 and received his first musical education as a chorister at Highgate School. He studied music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he wrote his first published compositions and conducted his first recording while still a student.

His compositional career has embraced both large and small-scale choral works, orchestral and instrumental pieces, a piano concerto, two children’s operas, music for television, and specialist writing for such groups as the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and the King’s Singers. His larger choral works, Gloria (1974), Requiem (1985), Magnificat (1990), Psalmfest (1993) and Mass of the Children (2003) have been performed many times in Britain, North America, and a growing number of other countries.

From 1975 to 1979 he was Director of Music at Clare College, whose choir he directed in a number of broadcasts and recordings. After giving up the Clare post to allow more time for composition, he formed the Cambridge Singers as a professional chamber choir primarily dedicated to recording, and he now divides his time between composition and conducting. He has guest-conducted or lectured at many concert halls, universities, churches, music festivals, and conferences in Europe, Africa, North and Central America and Australasia.

In 1980 he was made an honorary Fellow of Westminster Choir College, Princeton, and in 1988 a Fellow of the Guild of Church Musicians. In 1996 the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred a Lambeth Doctorate of Music upon him in recognition of his contribution to church music. He was honoured in the 2007 Queen’s New Year Honours List, being awarded a CBE for services to music.

There can’t be an Anglican church in the United Kingdom that hasn’t got several copies of Carols for Choirs (in many volumes) or who’s choir has not performed a piece of work by John Rutter. In 2011 John composed a special piece of choral music entitled This is the Day for the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton, which was performed by the choir of Westminster Abbey.

Nicolas Fink

Nicolas was born in Switzerland, where he completed his studies with high honours in choral conducting from the Luzern Conservatory, he also studied voice, earning his concert diploma as a baritone.

Providing listeners with a new perspective on choral music, and creating new kinds of performance experiences are two of Nicolas Fink’s particular pursuits. Mr. Fink conducted the Berlin Radio Chorus’ renowned production Human Requiem at the 44th Arts Festival Hong Kong and at the Klara Festival in Brussels. He conceptualized and conducted the ‘visual concert’ production of the Norwegian premiere of Frank Martin’s Le Vin Herbé with photographer Magnus Skrede and the Edvard Grieg Kor. With the WDR Cologne Radio Chorus, he helped develop and conducted the acclaimed choreographed production of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil.

Nicolas has conducted the radio choruses of WDR Cologne and MDR Leipzig, the Berlin Radio Chorus, the Choeur de Radio France, the Vocalconsort Berlin, the Coro Casa de Musica Porto, the Cor del Palau de la Música in Barcelona, the Edvard Grieg Choir and many others. He also is a sought after chorusmaster and has collaborated with dozens of leading conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Marek Janowski, and Daniele Gatti. In 2014, he began his tenure as the choral director of the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Chorus.

As an educator, Nicolas directed conducting workshops in Hong Kong and Indonesia, and co-directed the choral conducting masterclass at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival with Simon Halsey. Following his successful collaboration with the Edvard Grieg Youth Choir in Norway, he will continue working with young singers as the conductor of the Swiss Youth Choir.

Eurovision Choir Of The Year 2017, Running Order details (Click for full size)

Each Choir will be separated by a ‘postcard’ video, similar to that seen in the Eurovision Song Contest, and the judges will be given five minutes at the end to decide the results. There are four elements that choirs will be judged on:

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/07/22/how-to-watch-eurovision-choir-of-the-year/feed/1What is the Eurovision Choir of the Year?http://escinsight.com/2017/07/19/eurovision-choir-year/
http://escinsight.com/2017/07/19/eurovision-choir-year/#commentsWed, 19 Jul 2017 07:51:58 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63761You may have seen the trailer at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest and now it's here! This weekend sees the Eurovision family grow with the introduction of Eurovision Choir of the Year. What is it? Who's taking part? Should I get my flag out? Lisa-Jayne Lewis is here to introduce the show.

]]>This Saturday sees the launch of the newest event in the Eurovision family ‘Eurovision Choir of the Year’. I had hoped to be there, as someone who grew up singing in choirs and vocal harmony groups I couldn’t be more excited about this new addition to Eurovision Special Events and my plan was to head off to Riga for the weekend, but alas events keep me at home, so like many, I will be tuned to the livestream on ORF2 on Saturday night (more of that later!) instead.

How It Works

Nine countries will take part and for only the second time in history at an EBU event, the United Kingdom will not take part as a unified nation but the Principality of Wales will take part under it’s own name (the first was when Wales took part in Jeux Sans Frontières from 1991-1994). The contest will be judged by a profession jury made up of multiple award winning mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča (Latvia), world-renowned choral composer John Rutter (United Kingdom) and legendary choir conductor and choirmaster Nicolas Fink (Switzerland). There is no televote, but don’t let that put you off watching, from the choirs that are performing I know you are in for a wonderful evening of music.

Each country is represented by a choir, performing a piece of unaccompanied music lasting no longer than six minutes (twice as long as the Eurovision Song Contest’s three minute rule). Choirs are free to perform a singular piece of music or an arrangement that includes more than one composition, a ‘mash-up’ so to speak! As with the Song Contest, there is no set genre, choirs are free to choose the style and genre that best represents them, but with one caveat the performance should contain national or regional influence from the country they represent. Soloists are allowed but they must note predominate the overall performance and choirs may not use any instruments unless they are played by the choir singers.

Meet The Choirs

Austria

Hard-Chor Linz will fly the flag for Austria. A young contemporary mixed choir based (unsurprisingly!) in the beautiful city of Linz. The choir was established in 2007 by a group of dedicated and motivated musicians looking to bring something fresh and new to Austria’s already well-established music history and culture. The conductor and choirmaster is 37-year-old Alexander Koller, who was also one of the founding members, he has a plethora of music and performing arts degrees in his back pocket and works with a number of choirs throughout Austria. Find out more here: www.hard-chor.at

Belgium

Les Pastoureaux literally translated as ‘The Shepherd Boys’, is an all-male choir from Waterloo (no Abba references please!) The choir was established in 1974 and are known for their repertoire of beautiful and haunting sacred music as well as works by the classical masters (Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, to name a few). The choir consists of 60 boys whose voices range from soprano to Alto and are supported by 20 teenage and adult males providing baritone, tenor and base vocals. He choir is currently under the direction of Philippe Favette, a life-long music lover who joined the Conservatoire Royal de Liège at the age of 10. Having spent his time working with many choirs and Philippe became the choir’s musical and artistic director in 2006. Find out more here: www.lespastoureaux.be

Denmark

Academic Choir of Aarhus were formed in 1985 and consist of around 30 mixed vocalists all connected to the University of Aarhus or the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus. The all a capella choir’s passion is to showcase new Danish and Nordic choral music and whilst there is a love of the classics, it is in the new contemporary world that this group has firmly found their voice. The choir has released several albums which have all been widely praised both in Denmark and internationally. ACA have recently performed a series of oratorios in partnership with the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra. ACA’s conductor and choirmaster is Ole Faurschou, he is a graduate of the internationally acclaimed University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. Ole won the ‘Best Conductor’ prize at the China International Chorus Festival in 2006. Find out more here: www.akademisk-kor-aarhus.dk (Danish language only)

Estonia

ETV Girls Choir will take to the stage to represent the Baltic nation. The choir had humble beginning in he Children’s Television Music Studio in Tallinn which was founded in 1990, today the choir comprises 25-30 female singers between the ages of 15 and 25 years old most of whom have a musical education and earlier choral experience. The choir has toured extensively throughout Europe and the USA and it should be noted they are not a new name to the EBU having won 1st prize in the youth category of the EBU’s International Choir Competition Let The People Sing in 2005, they also participated in the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest in Tallinn. The choir is conducted by Estonian classical music star Aarne Saluveer, who has a wealth of experience in choral conduction for prestigious events around the world, if anyone can get the best out of a choir, it’s Aarne! Find out more here: www.etvgirlschoir.ee

Germany

Jazzchor Frieburg hail from the Black Florest region of Western Germany. A relatively small choir, what the lack in numbers they sure do make up for in talent and passion for music. This multiple award winning choir was formed in 1990 by Bertrand Gröger who remains the director of the choir to this day. The choir have toured Europe, enjoyed success in choir competitions around the world and release four successful albums, they are also sort after for radio and TV recordings which have brought the choir to national and international acclaim. Jazz enthusiast Bertrand himself has enjoyed much success as a choirmaster and conductor. He is also a lecturer at the Mannheim Pop Academy and a much-sort-after singing teacher for jazz, pop and rock vocalists. Find out more here: www.jazzchorfreiburg.de

Hungary

Béla Bartók Male Choir carry the hopes of Hungary on their shoulders. Another multiple award winning choir with 42 awards in their trophy cupboard, including wins at the 2006 & 2008 Choir Olympics in Beijing & Graz respectively. Also touring extensively through Europe & the America’s performing to sell out audiences across the globe. This choir is the contest most long-established choir having formed in 1945 and current conductor and choirmaster Prof. Dr. Lanker Tamás began his role in 1980. As well as heading up this international acclaimed choir Prof. Dr. Tamás is currently Professor of Choral Conducting at the Pécs University of Sciences. Find out more here: www.bartokbelafikar.hu

Latvia

Spīgo will be the choir representing host nation Latvia, so expect their performance to go ‘big in the hall’ to borrow a phrase from the Song Contest! Spīgo is actually a school choir, made up entirely of female voice and established in 1977 at Jelgava’s 4th secondary school. The choir celebrate their 40th anniversary this year knowing that they have an impressive history, like all our choirs, having won multiple awards over the years for their outstanding choral vocal ability. Spīgo have been under the direction of Līga Celma-Kursiete since 2004. Līga studied music composition at the Latvian Academy of Music with further studies in The Hague and Copenhagen before moving back to her native Latvia. Find out more here: www.4vsk.jelgava.lv (Latvian language only)

Slovenia

Carmen Manet, which means “the song remains”, is one of the newest of all the choirs performing in the contest. Established just 6 years ago, this all-female chamber choir has already built up an impressive repertoire and achieved great results in a number of international choir competitions. Added to that just two years after it’s inception the choir released their first CD ‘The Song of the Northern Wind’, which showcases the work of composers from Northern Europe. Primož Kerštanj has been directing and conducting the group since its beginnings. Although this choir maybe relatively new Primož himself has been conducting choirs since 2000 and has a rich background in composing and arranging music for choirs, Primož was a juror at the Linz International Choral Competition, so will his experience on the judging front be helpful to Carmen Manet’s success on Saturday? Find out more here: http://carmenmanet.splet.arnes.si (English language option available)

Wales

Côr Merched Sir Gâr is a female youth choir made up of girls from secondary schools across Carmarthenshire in western Wales. The Welsh people have a long tradition of music and song and, this being the only Celtic country represented, we can expect to see some of that ancient tradition as well as the beautiful Welsh language in their performance. The youngest of our 2017 choirs Côr Merched Sir Gâr was established five years ago but have already been invited to perform at The Royal Albert Hall in London and won the title of Côr Cymru 2017 (Choir of Wales 2017) just a few months ago. It was this win that saw Welsh TV network S4C select them to represent Wales here in Riga. The choir is lead by the ever-so charismatic Islwyn Evans, a popular and much loved figure in Wales, having conducted many choirs in the past, and been a representative of the Association of British Choral Directors, Islwyn brings a fresh new wind to the world of the Welsh choirs. Find out more here: www.s4c.cymru/en/music/cor-cymru/

How To Watch

Depending on where you are in Europe/the World, depends on how you can watch the show. The easiest way is through the official YouTube channel. There are already videos on the channel introducing each of the choirs, so you be up-to-speed by the time Saturday comes around.

I’ll be back on Friday with some more information about the judging, updates from rehearsals and essential viewing information for the 2017 Eurovision Choir of the Year.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/07/19/eurovision-choir-year/feed/1Eurovision Insight Podcast: Eurovision Castaways, with Ewan Spencehttp://escinsight.com/2017/07/14/eurovision-insight-podcast-castaways-ewan-spence/
http://escinsight.com/2017/07/14/eurovision-insight-podcast-castaways-ewan-spence/#commentsFri, 14 Jul 2017 21:00:58 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63750Back to Île de Bezençon and everyone's favourite Eurovision related songs and stories. Next up at the customs desk is Ewan Spence, who reaches back to Bardo, further back to Gigliola Cinquetti, and forward to Poli Genova and Mika.

]]>Time for our second visit to the Île de Bezençon, as the ESC Insight team gather for our little break over the summer months. Of course the strange rules of being on Eurovision Castaways means you can only have eight Eurovision records and a luxury… and you need to get them past customs.

Ellie Chalkley returns to border duty as Ewan Spence reaches back to Bardo, further back to Gigliola Cinquetti, and forward to Poli Genova and Mika.

Eurovision Insight Podcast: Eurovision Castaways, with Ewan Spence

The ESC Insight crew are off to Île de Bezençon for the summer with their favourite Eurovision related songs and stories. Next up, Ewan Spence goes back to the beginning before arguing its not always about the melody.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/07/14/eurovision-insight-podcast-castaways-ewan-spence/feed/3Eurovision Insight Podcast: Eurovision Castaways, with Ewan SpenceIle de Bezencon, the island where all you can bring is eight Eurovision songs, if you can get them over the border. Ewan Spence is the next guest on Eurovision Castaways as the ESC Insight summer podcast series continues.Ellie Chalkleyclean36:17Eurovision Insight Podcast: Eurovision Castaways, with Lisa-Jayne Lewishttp://escinsight.com/2017/06/30/eurovision-insight-podcast-castaways-lisa-jayne-lewis/
http://escinsight.com/2017/06/30/eurovision-insight-podcast-castaways-lisa-jayne-lewis/#commentsFri, 30 Jun 2017 21:25:24 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63739New for the Summer, the ESC Insight crew are off to Île de Bezençon with their favourite Eurovision related songs and stories. First up, Lisa-Jayne Lewis takes us all the way from Christer Bjorkman to Conchita Wurst.

]]>Welcome to our new podcast series for the summer months. We’re all looking forward to a break, and the ESC Insight crew are jetting in from all over the world to visit Île de Bezençon with their favourite Eurovision related songs and stories.

Ellie Chalkley is on border duty as Lisa-Jayne Lewis takes us all the way from Christer Bjorkman to Conchita Wurst as she argues for her eight songs and a luxury to reach the island.

New for the Summer, the ESC Insight crew are off to Île de Bezençon with their favourite Eurovision related songs and stories. First up, Lisa-Jayne Lewis takes us all the way from Christer Bjorkman to Conchita Wurst.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/06/30/eurovision-insight-podcast-castaways-lisa-jayne-lewis/feed/10Eurovision Insight Podcast: Eurovision Castaways, with Lisa-Jayne LewisOne island where all you can bring is eight Eurovision songs, if you can get them over the border. Lisa-Jayne Lewis joins the Eurovision Castaways on the ESC Insight summer podcast series.Ellie Chalkleyclean44:54Portugal’s Big Decision: Where To Host The Eurovision Song Contesthttp://escinsight.com/2017/06/27/where-will-portugal-rtp-host-eurovision-2018/
http://escinsight.com/2017/06/27/where-will-portugal-rtp-host-eurovision-2018/#commentsTue, 27 Jun 2017 09:22:24 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63719Following the most long awaited victory in Eurovision history, Portuguese broadcaster RTP is already assembling the team that will organise 2018's Song Contest. Keith Mills looks at one of the big decisions facing the team... where to host the Contest.

]]>Portugal first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1964. Since then it has never came close to winning until Salvador Sobral and ‘Amar Pelos Dois’ written by his sister Luísa Sobral scored a runaway victory in Kyiv in May 2017.

In the days following Portugal’s triumph, sources within suggested that host broadcaster RTP implemented its long-standing plan to host the Song Contest in Lisbon. News bulletins confirmed that the likely venue would be the MEO Arena, one of Europe’s largest indoor venues, although unlike recent years, no proposed date for the 2018 Contest was publicly announced.

By the end of May, RTP had come under pressure from politicians and business leaders from other parts of Portugal who wanted an opportunity to host the Contest. Sensitive to complaints about too much centralisation of events in Lisbon, RTP commenced a host city selection process with potential candidates having until the end of June to confirm their interest and make proposals. There are already four confirmed candidates and another two which are also in the process of being submitted.

Setting Requirements And Expectations

On June 13th a delegation from RTP met the EBU’s Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group in Geneva and the Portuguese broadcaster is now working with a set of requirements that any host city will have to meet in order to be in contention to stage next year’s Song Contest. These requirements include a venue which can hold at least 10,000 people and have sufficient infrastructure to facilitate broadcasting and press facilities. The host city also needs to have a sufficient number of hotel rooms, access to an international airport and sufficient funding to support their bid.

It is believed that RTP has earmarked an initial budget of €20m for the Contest, but the broadcaster is looking at making Eurovision at least cost neutral through ticket sales and sponsorship. The desire to have a balanced budget favours venues which need little refurbishment to be ‘Contest-ready’ and have a large capacity in order to maximise ticket revenue.

Where Could We Go?

Local interest in the Eurovision Song Contest has never been higher in Portugal. Already local fans are getting many expressions of interest in attending next year’s Song Contest, suggesting that unlike Kyiv the event, there will be little trouble selling out the venue. It is also believed that the Portuguese tourist board is likely to be involved as the contest offers a huge opportunity to promote one of Europe’s biggest tourist locations.

The four already confirmed host cities are Lisbon, Braga, Santa Maria De Feira and Gondomar. Two other candidates are likely to be confirmed with Portimão and Guimarães entering the process and there is also a rumour that Funchal on the island of Madeira may be preparing a bid.

Lisbon: The MEO Arena

The Portuguese capital remains the odds on favourite to host Eurovision 2018 as it is the only option that clearly meets all the EBU criteria and offers the biggest venue for maximising ticket revenue. While Lisbon has other venues which could stage the contest, nowhere comes close to the MEO Arena. Originally known as Pavilhão Atlântico, it is a multi-purpose indoor arena which has a capacity of 20,000 people. Built in 1998 for Expo ’98 and currently named after its main sponsor, MEO, it would almost certainly revert to its original name for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Lisbon’s MEO Arena

The spaceship-like arena, which is actually designed to look like an over-turned boat, offers everything that anyone would ever require for an ideal Eurovision venue. As well as the main concert area, which has staged many big international music acts, sporting events and the famous Web Summit (which was lured away from Dublin in 2016), there are two buildings in the same Parque das Nacoes complex which could work as a press centre and a Euroclub; Sala Tejo and F.I.L. (Feira Internacional de Lisboa). The nearby Oriente station is on the Lisbon metro line and also serves the national rail network. MEO is also close to Lisbon’s international airport and perhaps most importantly for cost saving, close to the headquarters of RTP.

In reality, it is hard to see any alternative venue coming close to MEO Arena in terms of facilities and as a major and growing tourist resort, Lisbon offers more than enough hotel rooms and international flights.

Braga: Parque de Exposições

The mayor of Portugal’s fifth biggest city has made an ambitious proposal to host the Song Contest, suggesting that the currently under construction Exhibition Park could stage the contest. When completed next spring, the concert hall should be able to hold 15,000 people. Other buildings in the complex could be used for press and broadcast facilities.

Braga: Parque De Exposicoes

Despite the city’s growing tourism trade and a reputation as a young and lively city, it suffers from two additional challenges on top of not having an already established venue. Braga – which is Portugal’s most northerly major city – is not close to an international airport and it does not have a sufficient number of hotel rooms.

Braga is over 50km from Porto Airport and over 350km from Lisbon, although transport links to both airports are good. Vigo and Santiago airports in North West Spain are also an option but transport links are poorer. Hotel rooms of a sufficiently high quality would be a major challenge and it’s hard to see Braga as a serious contender to host the Contest. Even if you establish a generous radius of 50km, you barely get to 11,000 hotel rooms.

Some media sources have speculated that this bid is more to do with getting publicity for the city and its aspiring mayor than being a serious candidate to host. The city’s mayor Ricardo Rio is seen as the major cheerleader for this bid and the publicity gained from being seen as a Eurovision host candidate will support his political ambitions and help both him and his city gain national and international attention, even if only for a few weeks.

Santa Maria De Feira: Europarque

Santa Maria De Feira is a municipality of 18,000 people, 30km south of Porto and is seen as being the strongest rival to Lisbon to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2018. The Europarque is a modern congress facility built in 1995 and is part of a complex used to host concerts, conventions, conferences and fairs. The capacity of the main arena is 11,000 people and other buildings in the complex could be used for press and broadcast facilities. While it has a venue, like Braga, Santa Maria De Feira suffers badly in comparison to Lisbon when it comes to hotels and transport infrastructure. The nearest airport is in Porto, but it is on the other side of the city and there are few hotels or indeed anything else of note, bar a landmark castle, in the town of Santa Maria De Feira itself.

Santa Maria De Feira’s Europarque

The lack of hotels would mean that technical staff, delegations and press would face a long daily commute from Porto or Vila Nova de Gaia to get to the venue. However it is believed that a lot of money and business and political support is behind this bid as the Europarque facility is struggling to attract the business that was originally planned for it.

Again, local politics is playing a major role in this bid. Europarque was removed from the control of AEP, the Portuguese Business Association in 2015, following financial irregularities and handed over to Santa Maria De Feira’s city administration who have struggled to maintain its financial viability. This bid puts Europarque back in the Portuguese press and in a positive light. This bid may be more about getting free publicity for the venue than a serious challenge to host the Song Contest.

Gondomar: Multiusos de Gondomar Coração de Ouro

While it may sound like a location in ‘Lord of the Rings‘, Gondomar is actually a municipality of 170,000 people, 16km to the east of Porto, Portugal’s second city. The distinctive round red multipurpose venue was designed by well-known architect Siza Vieira and completed in 2007. The venue which is predominantly used for indoor sports has a standing capacity of 8,000 spectators but has few surrounding facilities for the Eurovision circus.

Gondomar’s Multiusos de Gondomar Coracao de Ouro

Gondomar suffers from the same issues as Santa Maria De Feira, having few hotels nearby, meaning a long daily commute from either Porto or Vila Nova da Gaia, although Gondomar is closer to Porto and its international airport. Gondomar is believed to be the preferred bid by politicians and business leaders from Porto (which itself does not have a suitable venue – the Rosa Mota Pavilion in the centre of the city is currently beginning a process of refurbishment which means that it will not be available in May 2018).

Gondomar ticks very few of the necessary boxes to host Eurovision, with a low capacity venue, long commutes from Porto due to the lack of nearly hotel rooms and poor transport infrastructure. However as the country’s second city Porto has to be seen to be interested in hosting all major international events staged in Portugal and there is fierce rivalry between the country’s most affluent city of Porto and the nation’s capital of Lisbon.

Portuguese media and Eurovision fans have speculated that while Lisbon may end up hosting Eurovision, a venue in Porto is likely to be chosen by RTP to host Festival da Canção, the show that select’s Portugal’s entry.

Giumaráes: Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães

Another northern city, Guimarães has a population of 160,000 and is 20km, south-east of Braga and 50km, north-east of Porto and its international airport. Guimarães is a very historic city and a former Portuguese capital, with a strong tourist trade. While it has still to officially confirm that it is a candidate to host Eurovision in 2018, sources inside RTP are expecting a bid that uses the multi-purpose Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães as a potential venue.

Giumaraes’ Pavilhao Multiusos de Guimaraes

While the venue is ideally located in relation to the city and has a capacity of up to 10,000 spectators – which is likely to be halved once a stage and camera positions are installed – there are some minor press areas in place, but a temporary facility for a proper press centre would need to be built. There are rumours that this bid may include offering the venue for a nominal charge in order to draw the event to the city. A similar arrangement was the deciding factor in Dusseldorf being awarded the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest. However without sufficient hotels and access to an international airport, Guimarães would be a surprise host city and a successful bid may well raise concerns about the ethics and transparency of the host selection process.

Portimáo: Portimão Arena

The city authorities in Portimão in the Algarve in southern Portugal are believed to be preparing a bid to host Eurovision, based on using the city’s recently completed arena as the venue. Portimão is a town of 55,000 people that has become one of Portugal’s biggest tourist resorts in recent years, thanks mainly to its beach area, Praia da Rocha.

Portimao’s Portimao Arena

Hotels should not be a problem for this bid, due to the town’s tourist trade and its proximity to many other resort towns but Portimão is 66km from the nearest international airport in Faro and the venue is far from ideal. The Sala Algarve hall in the Portimão Arena only has a standing capacity of 8,000 although the complex does have plenty of other facilities for press and technical staff.

Like the Braga bid, this is thought to have more to do with publicising the area than a serious contender to host the event. The city authorities in Portimão have a strong reputation for gaining international publicity and this bid would show that there’s more to the city than beaches and sun based entertainment.

Everyone Has The Right To Be Considered

When you look at the shortcomings of the rival bids, it is hard to see any real alternative to Lisbon. The MEO Arena is an ideal venue for the Eurovision Song Contest and Lisbon has everything needed to be the perfect host city. It would therefore be a huge shock if the Song Contest went elsewhere. However RTP wants to be seen as seriously considering other options and not being Lisbon-centric.

Sources well-placed in RTP suggest that as a consolation for not getting to host the Song Contest, one of the other candidate cities will be selected to host Festival da Canção, the national selection to choose Portugal’s entry, with the Porto area likely to be preferred. RTP is expected to announce the Eurovision host city, the date for the contest and preliminary details of Festival da Canção in the near future. For its 2018 entry, it is likely that RTP will repeat the formula that brought success in 2017, with invitations to prominent Portuguese songwriters.

What About The Hosts?

While it waits from the completion of the host city process, RTP is also looking at other details of the 2018 Contest. Actress and TV presenter Catarina Furtado is believed to be the favourite to present the contest. Catarina is a well-known face on Portuguese television and co-hosted the final of Festival da Canção in March. She has perfect English, having studied acting in London. Whether she presents the Song Contest alone or with a co-presenter is still not decided.

Katarina Furtado

Press speculation in Portugal suggests that RTP may also approach footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and Portuguese-Canadian singer/songwriter Nelly Furtado to play an on-air role, while it is known that the broadcaster is already seeking suggestions for Eurovision interval and opening acts.

While there may not be a lot of officially confirmed news so far, RTP is already working hard on next year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/06/27/where-will-portugal-rtp-host-eurovision-2018/feed/4Eurovision Insight Podcast: By Royal Appointmenthttp://escinsight.com/2017/06/19/eurovision-song-contest-esc-insight-podcast-493/
http://escinsight.com/2017/06/19/eurovision-song-contest-esc-insight-podcast-493/#commentsMon, 19 Jun 2017 20:00:46 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63702The latest ESC Insight podcast has news on Junior Eurovision 2017 and Eurovision 2018, along with an MBE and music from Sandra Reemer.

]]>With a bit of The Voice Kids and Britain’s Got Talent, a Russian National Final, and an opportunity to enjoy the process, the ESC Insight podcast rounds up where we stand for Eurovision 2018 and Junior Eurovision 2017.

Eurovision Insight Podcast: By Royal Appointment

The latest news on Junior Eurovision 2017 and Eurovision 2018, along with an MBE and music from Sandra Reemer. Hosted by Ewan Spence.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/06/19/eurovision-song-contest-esc-insight-podcast-493/feed/1The latest news on Junior Eurovision 2017 and Eurovision 2018.The latest news on Junior Eurovision 2017 and Eurovision 2018, along with an MBE and music from Sandra Reemer. Hosted by Ewan Spence.Ewan Spenceclean17:40When Eurovision’s Televoters Ignore Your National Final Winnerhttp://escinsight.com/2017/06/15/malta-televote-national-final-eurovision-song-contest/
http://escinsight.com/2017/06/15/malta-televote-national-final-eurovision-song-contest/#commentsThu, 15 Jun 2017 10:50:53 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63680What do you do when you give the public control, then score nul points? Luke Fisher looks at the logistics of selecting next year's song for one of Eurovision’s smallest countries.

]]>There was a slightly bizarre turn of events buried in the Eurovision Song Contest 2107 Semi Final results. During their National Final the Maltese public was given total power to choose its own entry for the first time since 2008, but Claudia Faniello’s entry laid a goose egg of nul points in the televoting.

With no apparent appeal to the wider public of Europe, what happens next?

A Change To Malta Eurovision Song Contest

As early as October 2016 reports were already surfacing that PBS, Malta’s national broadcaster, was planning to change several things in the country’s selection format for the Song Contest– most notably, that the jury voting would be scrapped and 100 percent of the decision would be given to the televoters. In recent years the public voting had counted as an effective sixth jury member, while from 2005-2008 the public picked the song exclusively. 2009 saw a one-off format where a jury selected three songs for a ‘Super Final’ and the public made the final decision.

On the surface a complete return to televoting didn’t seem like a bad idea; the previous year’s song by Ira Losco, which was somewhat controversially changed after the National Final, polled in the top four with Eurovision juries but a disappointing 21st with Europe’s public – not altogether surprising when no Maltese televoters actually chose ‘Walk On Water‘.

That change of song resulted in a public backlash, knocking what appeared to be much larger political stories off the front pages in Malta. Moving to a 100 percent televote meant a more transparent process for PBS in the selection.

Who Sings Wins

But Malta is different to almost every other country in the Eurovision Song Contest. It’s one of the smallest counties in the competition to use a public selection to pick its entry, with a population of just over 445,000, and has no music industry of its own. Taking part in Malta’s National Final is one of the biggest musical gigs of the year. While there’s no hard and fast rule about needing a certain population to win the Song Contest, such a small starting base of presents PBS with some very unique problems:

You have a smaller talent pool to pick from.

Everyone is ‘known’ to the public.

While the former seems to be no disadvantage for Malta, given that they appear to have a conveyer belt of talented vocalists and have won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest twice in recent years, the latter is.

With such a narrow talent pool to choose from, and similarly a very small voting audience, the public already know around 95 percent of the acts taking part before a single song is sung. That means Malta treads a very thin line between a ‘song contest’, and a ‘popularity contest’. While it can never be scientifically proved, I have no doubt that Claudia Faniello’s story (ten previous entries in the National Final without a win) coupled with her in the country helped her over the line to win the ticket to Kyiv 2017, rather than the strength of ‘Breathlessly’.

And therein lies the problem now facing Malta. By giving the public 100 percent of the vote, you allow for the artists’ stories and popularity, neither of which translate across 42 other countries, to outweigh finding the best song.

The record of giving the population total control in Malta isn’t great either. In three of the four ‘pure televoting’ years, the country has came twenty-third on Saturday night and had two failed qualifications. Save Ira Losco, who by being the country’s biggest star would win with any song in any year, the last two public choices have also failed to make it out of the semifinals – Claudia this year, and Amber in 2014.

Where Does Malta Go From Here?

This year’s televoting zero in the Semi Final was counter-balanced by the juries placing Claudia’s song eighth. With a combined total of 55 points it finished in 16th place out of 18 – unfortunately the country’s worst Semi Final position in 10 years. Probably not the result expected when the format change was announced.

PBS has already confirmed that the public will have a 100 percent say in next year’s National Final as well, which means the options for change are pretty limited. There are however some things they could do to try and mitigate the ‘popularity over song’ risk:

Offer A 200 Percent Televote

Yes, that’s right, a double role for the public. Adapt the winning format the country has used for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest where the singer is chosen in a one-off show performing any song they like. Let the public choose a winner in a glorified talent show. Then go away for six weeks, and come back with five songs that the public’s chosen singer has to perform in a live show. Let the public pick the winning song.

In the end, the people have chosen their favourite singer, and the best song for them to sing . It also allows composers to write songs best suited to that vocalist.

Do A Hungary

In Hungary’s A Dal National Final selection, the people pick the Eurovision entry but only after they’ve been carefully guided for four weeks by a jury selecting 80 percent of the qualifiers per show, and then deciding on a ‘Top 4’ that the public gets to choose from. The country has qualified every year since they started this format in 2013 (in 2012, the public picked a top 4 for the jury to choose from), so they’re doing something right.

Rebrand The National Selection

Successful examples in Estonia, Latvia, Hungary, and to a lesser extent Finland, have shown that something as simple as rebranding your National Final format can help find success.

In all cases, the shows were renamed to put the focus on choosing a song for the country not for the Song Contest (Estonia’s Song, Supernova, The Song, etc.). This is something Malta needs to do to counter the audience voting for their favourite singers. Call it something along the lines of ‘Our Song’; tell the audience countless times during the show that they are choosing “the best song for Malta”; or better yet ,drop all references to Eurovision until the last minute like they do in Hungary and Sweden!

Pair Up Fabrizio And Claudia For 2018

The two Faniello siblings have a somewhat unwanted record of both now having been ranked last, with nul points, by Europe’s televoters. Ok, so this isn’t the most serious of suggestions, but if you want to play up a story that pan-European voters could understand, this would be one of them!

For the record, Fabrizio’s one point in 2006 came from an Albanian backup jury.

Change Your Mind

Probably the most unlikely scenario, but worth putting out there. There’s no rule about how to select a song for the Contest, but the statistics from the 2017 Grand Final are quite telling – of the seven songs in this year’s Top 10 that had some form of selection show to choose them, six had jury involvement in their show. Only Romania is the exception, but TVR used a jury in its Semi Finals to pick the 10 finalists. Romania was also the only qualifier from the semis that had a pure televote in its final selection show where the singer and song were chosen as one package.

Or Stay Where You Are

The alternative of course is to just do nothing and go with exactly the same format. Given the fanfare with which the public having 100 percent of the vote was announced, this also seems the most likely option. I don’t think for a minute that this format will score nul points on televoting every year, but the inherent risk is that to do well at the Eurovision Song Contest you need the good songs to come from the more popular artists, which isn’t always the case because they have more votes ‘in the bag’. There will be the occasional ‘Gianluca moment’, but as with the 100 percent televoting era in Eurovision itself you can probably call half of the Malta’s Top 5 by looking at the names on a list.

After Portugal’s win, Malta now has the longest record between first entry and time waiting to win the Contest. While I’m sure their ‘Lordi/Salvador moment’ will eventually come, I’m less convinced they’ll do it with the current format.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/06/15/malta-televote-national-final-eurovision-song-contest/feed/3Grab The Moment and Change That Rulehttp://escinsight.com/2017/06/10/changing-eurovision-song-contest-live-vocal-backing-tape-rule/
http://escinsight.com/2017/06/10/changing-eurovision-song-contest-live-vocal-backing-tape-rule/#commentsSat, 10 Jun 2017 14:11:08 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63664Everyone understands that all vocals must be sung live at Eurovision. 'Grab The Moment,' Norway's entry for 2017, appeared to push the boundaries. Ellie Chalkely investigates if the interpretation of the live vocals rule has changed and why this is important for the future of the Song Contest.

]]>One of the most fundamental rules of the Eurovision Song Contest is that all vocals must be performed live. This means that we know songs like ‘Suus‘, ‘1944‘, ‘The Voice‘ and even ‘My Friend’ are achievements of sheer performance and vocal capacity before we even begin to examine the songwriting and artistry of the staging. We know that they’re doing it live, with no back-up tapes and no safety net, which is part of the reason that the Song Contest remains an unmissable piece of thrilling event television, and not just a popularity contest based on YouTube views.

However, one song in the 2017 contest gives us an opportunity to grab the moment and clear up the rules on vocals and vocal imitations. Norway selected a song by producer JOWST and singer Aleksander Walmann that skated very close to the edge of the live vocals rule, which I’ve reproduced in full below.

“Artists shall perform live on stage, accompanied by a recorded backing-track which contains no vocals of any kind or any vocal imitations aiming at replacing or assisting the live/original voice of the Contestant(s). The Host Broadcaster shall verify respect for this rule.”

The rule would appear to forbid the backing track from containing any identifiable vocal sounds that aim to replace a live vocal. Thanks to JOWST, the original stems from ‘Grab The Moment’ are available on Soundcloud. I’ll let you listen to them and you can work out whether they are vocals or vocal imitations, and whether they are aimed at replacing or assisting a live vocal. The track with these sounds on it is called VOICE CHOP, by the way.

Listening For Clarity

During the run up to the Song Contest, NRK sought clarification as to exactly how JOWST were going to be allowed to reproduce their track on stage. From looking at how JOWST performed live during the preview party season, we theorised that the manipulated vocals could potentially be produced by live sampling of Aleksander’s performance which JOWST was playing from the Launchpad synth controller in his DJ booth.

Live sampling and looping is a technique that many musicians use to great effect in a in a live context – see KT Tunstall performing Black Horse and The Cherry Tree for a really clear, classic example.

However, the released stems and the stand-in rehearsals show that Aleksander’s manipulated vocals are present on the backing track and that there’s no synth in the DJ booth for triggering any loops or effects patches.

We asked the EBU for comment on the specific exception that was made for JOWST and Aleksander’s performance. A representative from the EBU said:

“The sounds in question are not vocal samples but made using a synthesizer and cannot be made by a human voice. These sounds are not there to support or replace the real voices of the vocalist or the backing vocalists, but added as an effect. This song, therefore, does not break the rules of the competition.”

The Question Of Imitation

The post-chorus “kill…kill…kill” section in ‘Grab The Moment‘ is clearly intended to be interpreted as vocals.

There are audible lyrics in the section, and it is synced up with an on-screen graphic of a low-poly rendering of Aleksander mouthing the words. The graphic overlay is likely to be a deliberate decision which means that we don’t have the real Aleksander lip-syncing along to these sounds even though it’s impossible for him to be producing them. However, the fact that we have cyber-Aleksander’s mouth opening and cyber-vocals coming out does put us in a new area for which the original rules aren’t enough any more.

The existing rules allow main vocals to be supported by hidden backing singers, which can be seen to be much more dishonest to the audience than using vocal-like artistically sounds to produce a new instrument. With incredible vocal capacity and these new sounds beyond human capability, we might hear something truly extraordinary.

The live vocals rule, combined with the ‘six on stage’ rule does somewhat limit the sonic palette available to artists at the Eurovision Song Contest. Any kind of vocal backing group is limited to five voices, which means that songs which aim for gospel or polyphonic choral sounds often sound very thin. We haven’t been able to have songs which include treated vocal samples. A famous example is the dance break in Robyn’s ‘Call Your Girlfriend‘, where the last powerful note of her chorus vocal is sampled and becomes the instrument that plays the melody.

Finding The Moment

The exception given to ‘Grab The Moment‘ means there is a need to change or clarify the rules. How did we end up at this point?

Firstly, we have to look towards NRK. You would maybe expect that a competing broadcaster would ensure that all the songs competing in a national selection were reproducible in conditions similar to the final contest. However, Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix does not follow Eurovision conditions – the artists can have as many people on stage as budgets allow, which saw Elin & The Woods supported by a beautiful Sami choir, and Ammunition supported by a troupe of scantily-dressed lady demolitions experts.

They also allowed JOWST and Aleksander to submit a performance which included lengthy sections of synthetically manipulated vocals, which audibly contain words and are therefore definitely either vocals or vocal imitations. The inclusion of this musical element definitely enhanced the song, and it was definitely artistically justified – the reactions of the professional juries at Melodi Grand Prix and at Eurovision itself confirm that the song definitely sounded modern and technically interesting. However, the post-chorus synthesised vocals seem not be in the spirit of the rule forbidding the use of vocal imitations.

Moving Forwards

We have allowed musical innovations to result in rule changes throughout the history of the Eurovision Song Contest.

If we accept that extreme vocal-like synth sounds are just part of modern popular music – and lets be clear, they are – then we have to make specific provision for them within the rules of the Song Contest in order to clarify the rules for future composers and these provisions need to be explained in public.

With the combination of extraordinary singers, innovative songwriters and modern electronic musical techniques there’s the potential for incredible art to be made, but we must find a way to prevent any relaxation of the live vocals rule reducing the vocal skill level required to win the contest.

As we head to Portugal in 2018, where innovation and authenticity are likely to be strong themes, the updating of this rule cannot come soon enough.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/06/10/changing-eurovision-song-contest-live-vocal-backing-tape-rule/feed/10Diversity, Disillusionment and Dancing In Maidan Squarehttp://escinsight.com/2017/06/06/personal-memories-of-kyiv-eurovision-2017/
http://escinsight.com/2017/06/06/personal-memories-of-kyiv-eurovision-2017/#commentsTue, 06 Jun 2017 08:41:07 +0000http://escinsight.com/?p=63640What did 2016's Eurovision Song Contest mean to the residents of Kyiv? Guest writer Phil Doré looks back on his visit to Ukraine's capital city and Eurovision 2017.

]]>I’d been to the Eurovision Song Contest before, but 2017 felt different. At Malmö 2013 or Vienna 2015, the Song Contest felt like it could have been in Anywheresville, Europeland. Kyiv felt like it could have been any European city…at first. Then you started to notice that among the commuters getting on and off the Metro, some of those tapping away on their iPhones were wearing military fatigues. There were National Guard recruitment posters on the Metro, alongside the usual ads for laser clinics and apartments. Channel-hop on the TV, and you’ll spot what looks like propaganda between the music and news channels.

A Nation is Made Of People

Given the fairly blatant way Ukraine used nationalist themes to secure their win last year, I was curious to hear what Ukrainians thought of the Song Contest. So, as part of my Eurovision experience, I decided to eschew the fan areas and headed out to an English language conversation group, where locals meet in a bar to practice their English skills.

The language group were perfectly hospitable, seeming to view the influx of foreign visitors as amusing curiosities in a country where the tourist infrastructure isn’t particularly well-developed. That said, they were utterly indifferent about the Contest in their city. One young man commented, “Our politicians are corrupt, we’ve got a war in the East. Eurovision doesn’t change our lives. Anyway, I can’t afford the tickets.”

If Jamala’s win was supposed to spark off a wave of national pride, it certainly hadn’t had that effect on him.

Even going to the bar reflected his general sense of resignation about the state of his country. “Can you recommend me a good Ukrainian beer?” I asked him. “Oh, there’s no good Ukrainian beers,” he replied. “Our beers are bad.” Despite his warning I ordered a pint of the local brew, which turned out to be as cheap and as good as you’d expect.

They asked me about Brexit. “Ukraine wants to become part of the EU! Why would you want to leave?” I replied that, in my opinion, there weren’t really any good reasons, other than idiotic nationalism taking us down a foolish path. They assured me that as Ukrainians they understood this problem.

I ordered some more beer, and we exchanged more cultural insights. One guy told me that he had worked as an interpreter for British journalists in Ukraine. When I asked which news agencies, he mentioned the BBC and the Morning Star. They seemed very amused that Britain had a communist newspaper. “Oh yes,” I said, “You see it in all the shops. I never see anyone buy it though. I have no idea how they manage to stay in business. They can’t be making any money from it.”

A woman wondered out loud if the paper was a front for money laundering. Maybe this isn’t the first thing a Brit would assume, but Ukraine is unfortunately something of a hub for financial scams. To a Ukrainian this would be a natural conclusion to draw about any business that seems to stay afloat despite not seeming to turn a profit. “In Ukraine,” she told me, “We are specialists in money laundering.”

The English language group seemed appreciative that we’d taken the time to come along, even if they were a bit bemused at the idea that anyone would choose to come to Ukraine for a holiday. We wished them goodnight and headed back home to sleep off the beer.

Kyiv Celebrates Diversity

Eurovision week coincided with VE Day, which meant that on the Monday and Tuesday the Eurovision logo in the Maidan was crowded out by memorial poppies and billboards of World War Two heroes. A few yards away, the Independence Statue was plastered with photos of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the ongoing conflict. Across the street was a burnt-out building from the 2014 Euromaidan Revolution. The ruins of the building were covered with a giant awning proclaiming, “Freedom is our religion”.

Further up the road was a reminder of more recent struggles. The People’s Friendship Arch had been covered in the colours of the LGBT rainbow for Eurovision week, but the covers were noticeably incomplete. Work had begun but then halted due to protests from the far-right, leaving the arch only partially re-coloured – inadvertently perfectly symbolising the incomplete nature of social progress in Ukraine.

Kyiv’s Rainbow Arch during Eurovision 2017 (Phil Dore)

On Thursday, I bumped into a familiar face as we queued to enter the arena for the second Semi Final. It was one of the guys from the English language group on Monday night.

“I thought you weren’t interested in the contest?” I asked.

“They dropped the prices,” he replied, “So I decided to check it out.” He still seemed rather non-committal about the event, but said he liked the fact that NAVIband were singing in Belarusian. He wandered off in the direction of the fan zone. From the cheers in the crowd later that afternoon, it seemed clear that he wasn’t the only Ukrainian in the crowd who appreciated their neighbour’s decision to sing in their own language.

Later that day I caught up with him again, and asked him what he thought of the show. He replied, “I liked…the stage..I liked….the lighting…” I guess he hadn’t been totally converted, but at least we’d made a start?

On the Saturday night we watched the Grand Final on a big screen at the Eurovision Village, just a few hundred yards from those burnt-out buildings on the Maidan. Behind us, a group of Ukrainian teenagers whooped and cheered. The guy from the bar on Monday may not have been totally won over to Eurovision, but these kids were clearly having the time of their lives.

One of the teenagers asked me, “Were you not afraid to come to Ukraine, because of the war?”

“No,” I replied truthfully. “Donetsk is a long way from Kyiv.”

“But Ukraine is a small country,” she said. I assured her that the UK is even smaller. Besides, if they weren’t afraid to come out and party, why should I be?

As with the language group from Monday, the teenagers seemed intrigued by our presence in our city. Between songs, they quizzed me on what I thought of the country. Had I tried the local food? Had I eaten salo? I replied that I hadn’t, though I’d enjoyed a big plate of varenyky.

They cheered loudly for Belarus and Moldova, apparently as much out of solidarity for their neighbouring countries as in appreciation of the songs. They were a little muted in their cheers for Ukraine, freely admitting they’d never heard of O.Torvald and would have preferred Monatik as the entry. As the show ended, I told them to send Onuka in 2018.

Ukraine is a country that has been through many difficult times, with recent years being no exception. The preparations for the Contest itself also went through a number of difficulties. Despite these, Ukraine put on a great show. Although many Ukrainians feel disillusioned about the state of their country, I hope they will feel proud of Eurovision 2017 and their music.

]]>This year, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Tbilisi, Georgia. Sharleen Wright took the long way home from Kyiv to pop into the capital city and meet with GPB’s Executive Supervisor of Junior Eurovision 2017, Sergi Gvarjaladze, to find out what’s happening.

In this extended interview, Wright and Gvarjaladze talk about the venue, the logo and slogan, Georgia’s approach to the Song Contests in May and November, the Contest budget, selling Georgia, travel and accommodation, and how this year’s Junior Eurovision can be made a unique experience.

]]>http://escinsight.com/2017/06/02/eurovision-insight-podcast-depth-junior-eurovisions-sergi-gvarjaladze/feed/0Sharleen Wright popped into Tbilisi on the way home from Kyiv to talk to Junior Euroivsion 2017's Executive Supervisor for GPB, Sergi Gvarjaladze.Sharleen Wright popped into Tbilisi on the way home from Kyiv to talk to Junior Euroivsion 2017's Executive Supervisor for GPB, Sergi Gvarjaladze.Ewan Spenceclean27:22